Rights boss starts inquiry into Vancouver police media restrictions at camp removal

VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s Human Rights Commissioner has launched an inquiry into police restrictions on media covering the decampment in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in April.

Kasari Govender says in a news release that reports of Vancouver Police denying access to some journalists covering the decampment “raise serious red flags and merit investigation.”

Govender says it is crucial for media to be able to gather information on possible human rights violations when police are conducting operations where they may come into contact with marginalized people.

She says there were “multiple reports” of journalists encountering blockades or not having access to parts of the Downtown Eastside during the police operation where police were pulling down tents and disposing of campers belongings.